A contractor is set to begin pulling hazardous material from Port Alberni’s Port Hotel, where nearly 30 tenants were evicted in May because of concerns ranging from exposed wires to black mould, asbestos and a rodent infestation.
Warbrick Contracting Inc. will spend five to six weeks removing contaminated and hazardous materials from the building at Argyle and First streets. The job will be carried out by workers qualified to deal with asbestos, the city said in a statement.
WorkSafeBC rules will be followed and neighbouring homes and businesses will be kept informed, the city said.
Once the hazardous material is removed, the building is expected to be demolished.
Social-service agencies stepped in to find housing for the low-income tenants after they were required to leave the building on short notice under a municipal fire order. Some went to long-term housing, while others were accommodated in a shelter.
The 1956 building is owned by a numbered company based in Richmond — 1052162 B.C. Ltd. — and has been on the market for $890,000. Real estate agent Bobby Toor said this week that an accepted offer is in place but a closing date has not been set.
According to its sale listing, the property consists of a hotel with monthly rental rooms, a 120-seat pub and restaurant. It said offers are subject to the seller resolving an outstanding court case and fines owed to the City of Port Alberni.
Peter Wang, spouse Ding Mi and 1052162 BC Ltd. initiated a lawsuit in February in the Supreme Court of B.C. in Vancouver against Qian Fan and Libin Dong. At issue is the accuracy of land title records for the numbered company. The case has not yet been resolved.
The city has imposed charges on the hotel’s owner for work it has done at the site, including hiring security services — something that will have to be dealt with if any deal goes ahead. The total amount has not been finalized because it will include the planned demolition of the building.
It’s not clear how a potential purchase could affect the building’s future. Port Alberni chief administrative officer Mike Fox said the city intends to proceed as planned with demolition.
Port Alberni has wrestled with what to do about the Port Hotel, or Port Pub as it is commonly known, for most of this year.
It issued the owner a remedial action order to upgrade the building in January, and when that yielded no results, city hall told staff to go ahead with repairs at the owner’s expense.
In February, it was found that both the fire alarm and sprinkler system in the building had been disabled and a repair order from the city’s fire department was issued. Concerned about the safety of residents, Port Alberni hired a security company to watch over the building in case of fire.
In May, hazardous materials were found in the building, and tenants were evacuated under the fire order.
Exposed wires, a rat infestation, leaking ceilings and black mould have been found inside the building and asbestos was discovered in drywall samples.
By June, the city had spent about $200,000 on security patrols to watch for fires at the building.
McGill and Associates Engineering Ltd. of Port Alberni, which inspected the building, estimated that the cost to make it safe would be about $937,000, not including dealing with hazardous materials.
